Experts in arranging Traveller funerals

A.W. Lymn is the funeral directors of choice for many families in the Traveller community. We have long-standing relationships within the Traveller community and are proud to have served them for generations.

Traveller Traditions

There are several Traveller traditions and superstitions related to death and the burial of their loved ones. Because Travellers are very family orientated, many family members and friends from miles around will visit the person who is severely ill and the patient will never be left alone.

It is traditional for a dying person to be allowed to die outside so it has been known for hospital patients to be wheeled outside for their last moments of life. Customarily candles are lit near the bed of the dying person to light the way to their afterlife.

Traveller funerals are commonly arranged and conducted on a grand scale:

• Attracting mourners from around the country.
• Including elaborately designed and created floral tributes, often transported in a separate flower-hearse.
• Bringing traffic in the local town to a standstill.

When a Traveller dies a vigil is kept over the body by family members and candles are lit to guide the deceased person to the afterlife and kept illuminated until after the funeral.

Traditionally, when a Traveller dies away from home, it is customary to take the body home. If they died in a trailer, its walls were hung with clean white sheets and decorated with fresh flowers. It is common for a bonfire to be lit outside the home of the deceased.

The service

The deceased is dressed up in their best clothes.

The coffin of a deceased Traveller is usually considerably larger than their body as they are buried with any possessions which may be useful to them in the afterlife. Traditionally, food has also been buried with the coffin to provide the deceased with sustenance for their long journey.

As part of some Traveller burials, mourners toss coins into the burial plot as the coffin is lowered into it. It is believed the coins are used for payment into heaven.
In Romany tradition, when a person dies, family and friends gather round the body and ask for forgiveness for any bad deeds they have committed against them. They are concerned that if grievances are not settled, the deceased may come back as an evil spirit.